Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Round One of auditions

So, last Saturday was round one of auditions for my film. Overall, it was a great day. A couple of things happened that bothered me.I had a few last minute cancellations and one no show.The no show was from the guy that spent twenty minutes on the phone telling me how great he was and how talented and how fabulous. Don't know what happened to Mr. Fabulous!The Saturday before, Mr. Fabulous called me from the location of the auditions and announced he was there. I informed him that he had the wrong date. Maybe he was embarrassed that he messed up but I don't think I'm crying over Mr. Fabulous not showing up.Truly-- it's awesome that your acting teacher thinks you're great.Wow-- it's amazing that some director picked you out of a bunch of extras to stand next to a famous actor.Oh wait-- no it isn't. It's a cool story to tell your friends but it says literally nothing on your resume.Don't tell me how fabulous you are, Mr. Fabulous--- show up and blow me away. Show me what you can do. Believe me, I want actors to show up. I want to see what you can do. I want to see what you all can do.The great thing about last Saturday is how many talented actors did show up. I put about 10 actors on my list of people that impressed me enough to give them a second look. The hard part is going to be that I cannot cast all the people I liked. I only have ten roles and fortunately I have a wealth of good actors showing up. This was just the first half. I'm auditioning fifty actors this Sunday.That is really going to be tough. I feel pretty blessed that I have the turnout I have for this. It has been great. I love doing this so very much. Directing is such a joy for me. I have to note this. I always get somewhat nervous at auditions. I used to shake like a leaf. Not quite as much like a leaf any more but I noticed even the actors with full resumes... the one I had worked on ten shows with... they got the shakes a little.It was oddly comforting to know that we all get nervous, that it gets us all in that same place. I've learned so much sitting behind the table. Every time I get up on stage/in front of the camera or take on another directing position, I learn as much as I teach.It's a blessing to be able to do this.